Til Death Do Us Part
by Potato-Princess
Summary: Yep, I gave in and wrote a slash fic. Van Helsing wants to know his past but someone may be trying a bit too hard to jog his memory...Dracula and Van Helsing, what else do you need to know? Now Updated! Formerly entitled "Of Life and Blood"
1. I

I was just surfing and it hit me that there is very little Dracula/Van Helsing slash. So, although humor has always been my forte and I never publish my serious works, I decided to write a lovely slash piece just the way I like them. Or at least I decided to make the attempt...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Van Helsing related. But my dirty little thoughts are all mine.

Oh, and I changed the story a bit. Didn't care too much for the ending and I thought what the hell, it's my story.

'Til Death Do Us Part

The first ever serious fic posted by the Potato Princess

Chapter I

His hands clawed desperately at his ruined throat as he felt his lifeblood gush out. "Gabriel..."

But this monster was not Gabriel Van Helsing. It was a werewolf and whereas Gabriel could perhaps be enticed to mercy, this creature could not. And as Dracula was equally merciless, he supposed it was only fair that he was destroyed this way. The friar and the princess looked on as the werewolf plunged its claws into the vampire's chest and brutally tore and shredded the flesh. It lowered its head but before it could eat his heart, a lone cloud passed over the moon. Van Helsing dropped the bloody figure and turned to where Anna and Carl were standing. He met Anna's eyes and she froze.

"The madness is still upon him! Carl, run!"

Van Helsing, even when not in his wolf form, was still stronger than the princess and before Anna could cry out again, he crushed her throat with one hand. He threw her down on the floor and stalked after Carl. Dracula dragged himself over to where Anna lay, holding his insides in with one hand. He collapsed beside her and drew her to him with his free arm. A gurgling sound rose unheeded in her throat as he sank his fangs into her soft flesh, stealing the last of her life from her. He had barely rolled off her corpse when the werewolf attacked again. Carl had the antidote clutched in one hand but fear had paralyzed him. Dracula snatched the needle out of his hand and jabbed the werewolf in the gut.

Although Van Helsing had regained his human form he continued to fight like a demon. Carl was no longer standing there like a statue. He was instead kneeling on the ground praying. Dracula hissed in annoyance.

"Shut up! Do you really want to attract his attention?"

But it was Anna, not Carl, that attracted Van Helsing's attention. He walked away from the fight (much to Dracula's relief) and leaned down next to her corpse. Recognition and understanding dawned on his face as he met her murderer's eyes.

"Gabriel, Gabriel, Gabriel," he said soothingly. "She was already going to die. You killed her, remember? You have a nasty habit of killing the ones you love, Gabriel, a nasty habit."

Van Helsing crossed the room in a few long steps and slammed him against the wall.

"Murderer!"

He shook his head. "I thought I just explained that to you. It was you who killed her. I just eased her passing."

"Shut up, you smug bastard! You killed her."

"And you are trying to kill me. A little less pressure on my throat, Gabriel. It's remarkably difficult to argue with you when you're attempting to choke me. If I was alive like you and had to breathe, I would be extremely upset."

"I told you to shut up, you murdering son of a bitch! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now."

"Do I really have to, my sweet? The only reason you're arguing with me is because you have no idea how to kill me. If you knew, we wouldn't be having this little chat. With that said, I would prefer to have my feet on the floor instead of dangling a meter or so above it, if you don't mind."

Van Helsing pushed him away and walked towards Anna's limp form.

"Carl, we're leaving."

The friar nodded and put one hand consolingly on his shoulder. Van Helsing smiled bitterly. This was the first time he'd seen Carl at a loss for words. Dracula stepped towards them.

"But Gabriel, you only just got here. We have many things to discuss, you and I. You have questions and I know the answers. I can help you remember...Gabriel, I want you to remember!"

Van Helsing detected a strange note to his pleas. There was an undertone of loneliness, a hunger for some indistinguishable thing. He made the sign of the cross.

"Go back to hell."

He picked up Anna and left the castle. He looked back once in spite of himself, and it did not surprise him that the vampire was watching them leave. Something akin to sorrow passed across his face and he resisted a strange urge to return to the castle. He knew that those eyes would be watching until long after he left.

Please review and tell me if you liked it, loved it, hated it, or have a strange desire to tear off my fingers so I can never write again!

Remember, the Almighty Potato blesses those who review!


	2. II

Thanks for your reviews, guys. And as a token of my gratitude I now present to you...

Chapter II

Van Helsing was not surprised to find that he was expected.

"You held out longer than I thought you would, Gabriel."

He sounded tired. The vampire moved into the light of the torches and Van Helsing could tell by the extreme pallor of his skin and lips that he had not fed during the past three weeks. He hand closed over his gun instinctively.

"Of course, I'm sure you were busy with the funeral but I would have thought your curiosity would have driven you here sooner. I was beginning to think that you were not coming."

"I wasn't planning on coming, believe me."

"Then why did you?"

Van Helsing opened his mouth as if to say something but then averted his eyes, feeling slightly foolish.

"Ah, you have no idea...Am I right?"

Van Helsing had no choice but to nod.

"Would you prefer to come inside? I think you would be more comfortable inside than out here."

He didn't wait for an answer but opened the doors.

"The dining room is this way."

"Dining room? What would you want with a dining room?"

"It was a joke of sorts. My father designed this castle to be my prison when he could not bring himself to kill me. When I first walked into this room, I found it set for a feast. There were plates, forks, knives, a lace table cloth, crystal goblets...but the only food was wafers and wine. Communion fare. And instead of a centerpiece, there was a cross and below it rested a large Bible. On the wall was a painting of Christ and the Devil in the desert and on the bottom of the frame was a verse painted in gold lettering; 'Get thee behind me, Satan!' I removed everything except for the painting and the Bible from the room and buried it outside."

"What did you do with the painting and the Bible?"

"They are both in my room. I read the Bible sometimes out of spite."

"You can read the Bible?"

"Yes."

"Why do you keep them?"

"They remind me."

"Remind you of what?

"Of...of many things. Don't pry, Gabriel, it isn't good manners."

"It's called conversation. And you were the one who brought it up."

"True."

They entered a large dining hall. Dracula offered him a chair and then sat down himself.

"What did the friar say about you coming here?"

"He doesn't know."

"Good."

Van Helsing was uncomfortably aware of how the vampire's eyes kept wandering to his throat. And how he would occasionally wet his lips with his tongue. The silence was just beginning to grow awkward when Dracula propped his elbow up on the table and rested his chin on his hand. He smiled at him

"So, Gabriel, what is it that you want to know?"

"First off, why haven't you fed since, well, since Anna's death?"

The vampire made a choking sound and then began to laugh uncontrollably.

"You think...you think I invited you here to...to feed on you?"

"Well, why else haven't you fed? You keep giving me the same looks that a starving man gives to a roast chicken."

"Gabriel, my sweet, let me explain. I knew you were coming back but I didn't know when. The villagers would probably have killed you if they knew you failed...You didn't return to the village, did you?"

"No."

"Alright. And say I did catch dinner and brought it back here-I always bring them back here, I don't like being attacked while I feed-and you walked in? Your job would demand that you try and rescue whoever it was and I wanted to talk with you, not fight with you. And I am weaker when I haven't fed and thought it would be a sign of temporary neutrality with you. I think I gave you the wrong idea. I apologize."

Van Helsing simply shook his head. _Three weeks ago I tried to kill him. Yet here I am, chatting with him and for some reason, completely at ease with his presence. _

"How do you know me?"

"You lived Romania for some time. The Catholic church sent you to help put down resistance."

"Then why doesn't the Church doesn't have record of this?"

"I'm sure that they have the records; they simply did not make the connection. You must remember that most men do not live for hundreds of years. They probably thought you were named after him."

"How long was I in Romania?"

"I don't know exactly. You had already gained a reputation before we met. I had been out on a hunting expedition with several of my servants and acquaintances. We came across you and your soldiers and while we were exchanging pleasantries, our men began to argue over who would win in a duel; the Transylvanian prince or the Christian Crusader? We found the idea amusing and drew our swords in the clearing. I was the best of a family of duelists but you, Gabriel, you were the best I had ever seen. You were the only person skilled enough to toy with me during a fight. And one of the only ones to ever have beaten me. It turned out you were heading to the castle to discuss something with my father so I abandoned the hunt and accompanied you."

He stood up and continued the narration while pacing across the room.

"The resistance to the Christian religion was still very strong in parts of our country and there were rumors that my father was helping secret groups to burn missions and spread fear of foreign influence. Not true, of course. My father practiced the Christian faith and tried to help it spread but changing old traditions is a very long and difficult process. The Church sent you to help us destroy organized resistance."

"So I was a murderer of innocent people?"

"They killed people to justify their views and we killed them to justify ours. You seemed to have no problem with it at the time. Your world was very black and white, Gabriel, nothing grey in it at all. But you were always merciful to your enemies, taking prisoners and many times winning them to your side. You had a talent for winning people over, Gabriel. Most everyone you met loved you. My whole family did. I loved you especially and when I asked for my brother everyone knew I was not referring to my two brothers in blood, but to you. I trusted no one in my family like I trusted you."

At this, he turned and looked directly at Van Helsing.

"So Gabriel, you still remember nothing? Nothing of me or anything of the years we spent together?"

He shook his head. "No, nothing at all."

"Not even the sea? After three years you were called back to Italy. You left on a ship across the sea. It was the only time in my life that I had seen the ocean. I could return now anytime I wish but I refuse to change the memory of how it looked when you left. The waves, the sky, the emptiness," he smiled sadly.

"But I stray from the conversation and perhaps bore you with my poetic nonsense. I went with you to the sea when you had to leave. We didn't know if you were coming back. But two years later, you returned. You just showed up at the castle one day. Everyone was so delighted to see you again that only I noticed how you distanced yourself from everyone else. And how you seemed to avoid me in particular. I went up to your room that night but you had barred your door. I went back to my room, wrote a letter to you, and stuffed it underneath your door. A messenger came to my room the next day with a note in hand. It simply stated that you needed to talk to me in private. So the day after, we went on a walk in the woods outside my home."

Dracula sat down once again in the chair closest to him. Van Helsing waited for him to continue.

"You told me that you had received terribly difficult orders from Rome and these orders were weighing heavily on your mind. You apologized to me for the way you had treated me over the past two days, saying that it was not your intent to upset me. And you embraced me. I was near tears with relief that you were not upset with me, that you were the same Gabriel that left two years ago. And then you knifed me in the ribs."

And it was Van Helsing who continued in a whisper.

"You whispered my name and then blood began to bubble up from your mouth. You were crying and choking on it. I left you lying there. Dead."

"I wasn't dead," the vampire said quietly.

"What?"

"I didn't die then. I blacked out. My father found me and brought me back to the castle. They thought we had been attacked by rebels. I let them think that. A search party was sent out to look for you. I died in my room, alone, that night."

Van Helsing once again waited expectantly.

"And?"

"You have heard the rest of the story. And I will not speak of hell."

"If you were Christian like you claimed to be, why were you sent to hell?"

"I believed that the Church sent you to kill me. I wanted revenge, Gabriel, not against you, but against them. And I hated God for this and for other things as well. I renounced him as I died."

"For what other things?"

"You should remember, Gabriel. You were not a monk but you were still a man of God. And as much as you loved me, you would always love Him more. And you would not allow yourself to love anyone except in the way that brothers love each other. I wanted more of you than you were able to give, because of your God. I loved you Gabriel."

Dracula moved as if he was going to touch his face but pulled his hand back. The two remained silent for what seemed to both of them like an eternity. Then the vampire sighed and lifted Gabriel's chin with his fingertip.

"I am sorry. You would have been happier, I think, if you had never remembered this."

He said nothing in reply and stared down at the floor.

"Did you love Anna?"

"Yes."

A pause. "And did you love me?"

He was silent.

"Do you hate me?"

"No."

The vampire reached out and touched his face.

"I still love you, Gabriel."

He was silent once again and stood up. Dracula stood up as well.

"Do you wish to go?"

"I have to. Carl will be looking for me and we need to get out of this place fast before they know that Anna is dead."

"So you will not return?"

"No."

"Where will you go?"

"I'm not sure. Not back to Rome. Carl might return but I want nothing more to do with it all."

"Then stay here. With me."

"No."

Van Helsing was grateful that for the silence that then fell between them. Dracula escorted him all the way to the mirror.

"Then it is goodbye, Gabriel. At least for now."

"No, for forever. This is our last goodbye, Vladislaus."

The silver peals of Dracula's laughter echoed hollowly in his ears. Van Helsing stiffened as the vampire's mouth closed over his but he did not pull away. His lips were cold, so very cold...And it was Dracula who pulled away, who pushed him towards the portal with a smile.

"That is because, dear Gabriel, next time we will not say goodbye."

Once again, thank you for all your reviews. I really hope you enjoy this chapter and look forward to your comments, compliments, and criticisms!


	3. III

Chapter III

Van Helsing still felt the kiss burning on his lips when he entered the camp. He

fell upon his bed without bothering to undress; so eager was he to allow sleep to overtake him and calm his mind. All he wanted was a sleep without dreams but old memories continued to rise in his mind. _Vladislaus the Cruel, Vlad Tepes, Vlad the Impaler, Vlad who looked so much like his mother and was rumored to have inherited her insanity as well. Vlad with his charm and his voracious appetite for women. Vlad who hated his wife and loved the foreigner. Vlad who was doomed to love an angel..._Finally his eyes closed and he slept.

And suddenly he was dreaming and they were on the bed together, naked, and he was kissing him with a desire that surprised him.

"Gabriel," the younger man moaned, pressing against him with ardor.

This was a dream, he was sure of it, but it was so much preferable than his usual nightmares. In fact, he could not remember ever having a pleasant dream but it was so hard to remember anything right then but his name, and he was sure he only remembered that because he kept hearing it whispered over and over.

"Gabriel, oh my sweet, sweet, Gabriel..."

Gabriel continued to kiss him, his hands moving all over his body as Vlad shuddered, both of them aroused to the point where it was painful. He continued to caress him, deliberately prolonging the moment.

"Vlad, I love you."

"And I love you, Gabriel."

A bright red drop slid down his chin as he spoke.

"Vlad, are you alright?"

"I..."

Blood bubbled up in his mouth and he began to choke as Gabriel watched in horror. More blood streamed down his stomach from a deep gash between his ribs. A cloud of red spread across the bed sheets.

"It hurts," he whispered. Gabriel pulled away from him.

"I'll get help" was all he could think to say.

His lover clung to him. "Gabriel, my Gabriel, don't leave me. Don't leave me alone in the dark."

Van Helsing held him close, rocking him gently, and wiping his mouth with the corner of a blanket. Those fascinating eyes darkened and it was a corpse that he held in his arms. But then the eyes opened wide and their expression was angry, even hostile. He almost dropped him in surprise but his arms felt too leaden to move.

"Gabriel, my love, why did you kill me?" he hissed.

The vampire bit deep into his throat and Van Helsing awoke, startled.

_I don't know. My God, I don't know.

* * *

_

Dracula shut the door behind him and shook the snow from his cloak. He stood in the doorway, his eyes passing lazily over the room.

"You can come out now if you wish."

One corner of his mouth lifted in a small smile when he saw the person who stepped out from behind one of the doors.

"Your name is Carl, am I right?"

He nodded, too terrified to speak. Dracula was suddenly aware of his frantic heartbeat. The blood pulsing in the mortal's veins pounded out its rhythm in his ears. Slowly, he ran his tongue over his lips. No, he chided himself. Think of Gabriel. Gabriel would not want this one harmed.

"Why are you here?"

"Van Helsing...I followed him. I was...I was afraid for him," the friar managed to stammer out.

"How long were you here?"

"Long enough. I heard the whole conversation."

"And now what do you think?"

The friar studied the floor, carefully choosing his words. "God, I hate you."

"Ah, so you love him as well."

There was no response. He had not expected one anyway. His eyes closed but he opened them again in surprise.

"You are hurt."

"It's only a scratch. I mishandled a knife. Afraid I'm not much of a warrior."

The smell of the blood was intoxicating. His eyes fluttered shut again and now it was the vampire who trembled.

"You need to leave. Now."

The friar stepped backward.

"Run, you fool!"

Carl ran but not fast enough. Cold arms held him in an iron grip. He twisted himself around and met the vampire's hypnotic gaze. He fought it with all the will he could muster but soon surrendered to the promises of the black depths. Icy lips traced their path over his throat and Carl couldn't tell if it was the vampire or he who moaned at the sensation. The sharp pain of the fangs penetrating his skin did nothing to break the spell and the two, entwined, sank down to the floor.

Dracula shivered as he swallowed the first mouthful of blood. It was not the blood of a virgin as he had expected but still wonderfully sweet. As he drank the image of Gabriel flashed suddenly and terribly in his mind. Gabriel counted this one as his only friend in the world. There would be no forgiveness if this one died. Summoning up every ounce of his self-control, he pulled away and the shock of it almost made him fall. He turned to Carl and shook him gently, noting his white face and shallow breathing. And although he hated himself for it, he could not stop himself from licking the last drops of blood from his throat.

_I am sorry, Gabriel, so very sorry. _

He knew it was wrong to leave Carl lying there on the floor but he didn't trust himself enough to touch him. He would take care of him when he returned. His hunger had only been whetted, not abated, so while Carl lay as one dead on the floor, a demon spread its wings and circled into the night sky.

* * *

Van Helsing heard the snap of a twig and grabbed his knife. Carl stumbled into camp and collapsed in the clearing.

"Carl?"

He turned him over and felt for his pulse. It was weak but steady.

"Carl, what happened?" he asked, knowing full well that there would be no reply. On sudden instinct Van Helsing examined his neck. Two small puncture wounds were accentuated by his unhealthy paleness. A vampire bite.

"Gabriel, I didn't mean to."

He jumped involuntarily and turned to find the vampire directly behind him.

"I am sorry, Gabriel, but he followed you, you see, and I didn't know this until you left. And he was so, so _alive_, Gabriel, and his heartbeat was pounding in my head."

"So you almost killed him, you little shit!" Van Helsing shouted as he grabbed the vampire by his shoulders and began to shake him. "Killing Anna wasn't enough for you. You have to take everything I love away from me. I thought I was wrong about you, Vladislaus. I thought that you still partly retained your humanity. But you're a monster and I swear to God that I will send you back to hell."

"Gabriel, forgive me, I did not want to harm him. I tried not to. I told him to run but his heart began to beat faster and louder so I lost control. You cannot understand what a hunger, what a lust consumes the undead, my Gabriel, and how thankful I am that you will never understand it. It was the thought of you that enabled me to pull away. Gabriel, I did not try to hurt you by hurting him. Believe me," he pleaded.

Van Helsing left him and went back to Carl. Out of the corner of his eye he watched the vampire until he left.

* * *

"Damn you, Vladislaus," the vampire whispered quietly to his empty room. "Damn you."

He stared at the mirror that reflected everything in the room but him.

"I hate you."

He was sure that if he could see his reflection it would be smiling at him. In fact, he knew it was smiling at him. Mocking him.

"Stop it," he said, agitated.

For a second, he thought he caught a glimpse of his face in the mirror. He turned away from it and then he heard it start laughing. Its demonic laughter rang in his ears and grew in volume every second. Vladislaus punched his fist through the glass.

"I told you to shut up!"

The glass cut his dead flesh and he delicately licked the drops of blood off his hand before it healed. The laughter, however, did not stop. He covered his ears with his hands and when he lowered them a few minutes later, it was quiet. After waiting cautiously for a minute, he undressed and slid under the covers of his bed. Tonight he could at least pretend to be alive. Tombs held no allure for the living.

_You're cracking up, Vladislaus. Going to end up just like your mother. Lonely, miserable, jealous bastard, aren't you? Damned from the start. And all because I wanted heaven. I wanted heaven but even hell found itself too good for me._

He wanted his brides right then, missed them, needed them, wanted them to be with him. Not a sexual need but a simple hunger for the touch of another. He wanted them to hold him, to kiss him, to just lie next to him. He had loved them, he realized right then, but in a selfish sort of way. Not in the way he loved Gabriel. The brides could never fill the emptiness. Only Gabriel could. His Gabriel. Sweet, sweet Gabriel.

He was overcome by a wave of lust and felt himself grow aroused. Vladislaus tried to ignore it. It just served to remind him that his lust for Gabriel was almost as strong as his love for him. And Gabriel would never give in; he was too pure, too holy, he was an angel in human form, dammit, and the thought of sex had probably never entered his mind. _But what about the Valerious girl, Anna? He seemed to want her. And when you kissed him, he didn't fight it. He let you kiss him. One could almost believe he enjoyed it. _

At the memory of kissing Gabriel he couldn't stop himself from becoming erect. He wanted him so badly that he ached. If he had been human, he would have cried but he was dead and the tears wouldn't come. He started laughing instead and found that he couldn't stop. His laughter rose to a shriek as he clawed at his face with his nails. _Dead, dead, dead! _Tears of blood traced sticky trails down his face; the only tears he was able to shed.

_Damn you, Vladislaus. Damn you to the hell from which you crawled. _


	4. IV

Chapter IV

The torchlight danced on the faces of the frightened villagers. A young man out hunting had seen the foreigners. According to what he had overheard, they had not killed the vampire and were planning to leave. They were going to run away like cowards, leaving the villagers defenseless and still under the terror of the vampire. He had spotted the warrior and followed him. The boy stayed long enough to see the vampire join him and the then had returned to the village before the monster noticed his presence. This story shocked the whole village. They concluded that the foreigners must be demons, sent to assist the vampire from Satan himself.

"I say we kill 'em," said Nicolae, their self-appointed leader. He had been orphaned as a child as a result of one of the vampire attacks and hated them vehemently. At the age of ten he had nearly decapitated Dracula with a rusty axe and had ever since enjoyed a sort of celebrity status among the villagers. "If we leave them alone they'll become a big problem. Mark my words, we need to get rid of them _now_."

The crowd murmured its assent.

"The sun will rise in a couple of hours. They'll be weaker then. We'll hunt them down and kill them. If we're lucky, the old bastard will be sleeping and we'll just have to deal with the foreigners. If not, well, me and the bloodsucker got some unfinished business between us and it's about time it got cleared up," he said with exaggerated bravado and looked around at the crowd. He had them now. "So, do we hunt?"

The crowd cheered.

Nicolae raised his fist. "We go forth in the name of God!"

"In the name of God!" the crowd echoed and then dispersed to prepare for the hunt.

* * *

Vlad awoke with the taste of ashes in his mouth and an unshakable feeling of dread. He had dreamt of rotting corpses. 

Thump, thump, thump.

_They were coming._

Thump, thump, thump.

Was that their footsteps or heartbeats that he heard? 

He tried to wake up but realized that he wasn't asleep.

_They were coming._

Who? Who was coming? He gave himself a mental shake. _Quit thinking with the human part of your mind. Reach out with the part of you that is vampire. _

Slowly, he let down his mental barriers.

_He smelled the dust and the trees but most of all the blood that pounded through their veins. They were angry. He saw the shine of their weapons and the similar cold glint of their eyes. Did they hunt him? Foolish, foolish humans. He gently reached out to the mind of the leader. _

_Who do you hunt?_

_Die foreigners die vampire foreigners demons devil spawn destroy them._

_He pushed harder. Who do you hunt?_

_The demons. The foreigners. _

Vlad opened his eyes and found himself back in his room.

Gabriel. They were going to kill his Gabriel.

* * *

Van Helsing started packing their things as the sun rose. He wondered why it had to rain all the time in this damn country. The last thing Carl needed was to catch hypothermia. The last thing he himself needed was another death on his conscience. Lost in thought, he didn't notice the vampire until he was almost directly behind him. Van Helsing silently cursed himself for not paying attention.

"Gabriel, you must leave."

Van Helsing would have asked why but just then an arrow whizzed past his ear. Vladislaus pushed him down to the ground and a whole volley of arrows soared overhead.

"Gabriel, you need to come back to the castle with me. They want to kill you."

"Yes, Vlad, I kind of guessed that."

The vampire flashed him a grin that quickly faded. "You need to come back with me. You and Carl both."

The army of villagers rushed into the clearing. Van Helsing jumped to his feet and fired several shots into the crowd. He purposely ignored Vladislaus. He managed to grab his sword from where he had strapped it to his pack and stood his ground. The vampire's eyes burned holes in the back of his head.

"Gabriel, you have no food, little money, one horse, and a wounded companion. You are coming back with me. You won't survive if you don't come with me."

A villager charged at him and Van Helsing gored him through with his sword. "Yes, Vladislaus, but if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have a 'wounded companion.' We would have been long gone. No, wait, we never would have had to come here at all. And the villagers would have no reason to try and skewer me."

The vampire did not reply. Instead, his face seemed to ripple like it was made of water. His fangs lengthened and his features began to contort and change. Van Helsing knew that he could have transformed in a split second but he figured he was just putting on a show for the angry mob. Typical of Vlad. And, like most of Vlad's ideas, it worked. They froze with fear at the display. But one stepped out of the crowd.

"Quick, while it's changing shape! Kill it while it's vulnerable!"

The one that seemed to be the leader rushed at the beast. The half-formed monster carelessly knocked the weapon out of his hand and drained him of his life and blood. Instead of falling back, the villagers swarmed around the vampire, hacking and stabbing until the ground was slick with blood. He changed back into his human form and ran into the woods. The majority of the villagers gave chase.

"Run!"

Van Helsing killed the few remaining people, picked up Carl, and ran. A few minutes later Vlad appeared.

"Gabriel, they're right behind us. They realized that I was a diversion and most of them went back after you."

"Take Carl."

"Gabriel, do you even hear me?"

"Take Carl back to the castle. I'll meet you there."

"Gabriel," he began but the sound of shouts behind him stopped him from finishing.

"Vlad, I need you to take him. I'll hold out," he said and drew his sword.

"I'll come back for you," Vladislaus replied as he transformed. He lifted Carl and rose into the air.

* * *

Van Helsing heard the exclamations of the villagers and hid himself behind a tree while they stalled. He ambushed them from this point and realized that he had dramatically underestimated how many of them there were. One against forty. Not very good odds. He held out against them until he felt his arms start to ache. He continued to fight, sustaining only minor cuts, but he knew that he couldn't keep this up much longer. He was holding off three men at one time and they began to have the upper hand. As a last resort he pulled out his concealed pistol and shot them all point-blank. Blood spurted from their severed arteries and drenched his shirt. A cowardly shot, perhaps, but a life-saving one. The remaining few rounds took out two more of the enemy. So focused was he on the opponents that he was facing that he didn't notice the man behind him until he felt a wooden club connect with the back of his head. His vision spun in a dazzling array of colors until the next blow melded it into black.

* * *

Sorry for not updating as soon as I promised. A bunch of factors all chose to work against me, one of which was my Internet being down. So I won't promise a date for my next update in order to not jinx it but Chapter Five, if all goes well, should be posted soon.

I realize that I sound like a whiny review-hog but please guys, keep sending me your reviews! And if you happen to read this on the 23rd (the review thingy will be down, in case you didn't hear), come back on Tuesday and review. Thanks!


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